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By: Alexandra Ismail
The door creakes open, it’s around 4:00 PM my boots drip snow onto the mat. The air smells slightly of burnt sugar. The house is cold, the thermostat is set as low as it can possibly go. The windows are closed, the curtains drawn blocking out the gray sunlight filtered through the clouds. The lights are off and I keep them like that. The house is empty and eerily quiet. A cookbook lays open on the counter, it's old and stained. I don't remember when we got it or where it came from. The kitchen is a mess of ingredients strewn about the stained countertops. It's always like this. The oven door is open releasing the last of the warm air into the rest of the apartment. Flower carpets, the cracked tile floor, and the sink is filled full of days old dirty dishes. There is a plate on the table, its corner chipped, a crack running through the bottom. Its contents are covered in wrinkled tinfoil; washed and reused. The chipped plate sits next to yesterday's microwaved plastic dinner packages.
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I clear the table and wash a plate with the diluted dish soap beside the sink. I grab a cup, it’s plastic and smells slightly of orange juice and lavender discount dish soap, I fill it with diluted canned white grape juice; the last of the can. The plate has 2 lemon poppy seed cookies made with extra lemon and less sugar, my favorite. I clean up the mess leaving out the leftover lemons and eating them like oranges. This is my favorite part. I've always liked the lemons more than the desserts.
I ate one, the half-burnt one, not that I like them better burnt. They’re a bit cold but better than usual the tin foil helped a bit. I bring the remaining cookie to the living room and leave it on the table beside the pull-out bed. I write on the back of a receipt “Thank you”. I go back to cleaning the mess. I won't see her until the sun rises. |
Ingredients |
Instructions |
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2 Cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda 1 ½ tsp freshly grated lemon zest 1 tsp ground coriander 2 tbsp poppy seeds ¾ cup salted butter softened 1 cup white sugar 2 large egg yolks 1 large whole egg1 ½ tsp pure lemon extract adjust to preferences 1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice |
Preheat the oven to 300℉ or 148℃
1. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, lemon zest, coriander and poppy seeds. Mix well with a whisk and set aside. 2. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until mixture forms a grainy paste. 3 . Scrape down the sides of a bowl and add yolks, egg, lemon extract and lemon juice. Beat at a medium speed until fully combined 4 .Add the flour mixture and mix at a low speed just until combined. Do not over mix. 5. Form balls about the size of a heaping tablespoon with the batter and put onto ungreased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 21-23 minutes until cookies are slightly browned. Immediately transfer cookies with a spatula to a cool surface. |